Crackdown targets scofflaws around Metro Blue Line

LONG BEACH, Calif. 
A Blue Line train hit a bicyclist on Monday, the same day that officials cracked down on distracted motorists along one of the nation's busiest light rail lines.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority said more than 106 citations were issued near the Blue Line in Long Beach. Most drivers were cited for driving while using cell phones.

The MTA organized the sweep to call attention to driver and pedestrian safety along the 22-mile line.

Blue Line trains, which run mostly at street level, are responsible for more fatalities and collisions with motorists and pedestrians than trains on the MTA's four other lines.

The agency said collisions between vehicles and trains have dropped, but the rate of accidents involving pedestrians have remained the same.

A 37-year-old bicyclist was hit by a train Monday afternoon near downtown Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police Officer Karen Rayner said the man was listening to music with headphones while holding onto the bus and getting pulled along. When he let go to turn, he turned into the train, which hit him, she said.

He treated for severe cuts to his shoulder and head at a hospital and released.